FB hate community targets city celeb

Entrepreneur Tehseen Poonawala to lodge complaint against those who created community

FB hate community targets city celeb

Entrepreneur Tehseen Poonawala to lodge complaint against those who created community

City celeb and entrepreneur Tehseen Poonawala was shocked when he was informed that a community 'HateTehseenPoonawala' has been created with active members posting derogatory remarks. Informed about the social network site and the community, Poonawala said, "I have 6,000 people on my friends list and the hate community has 27 members, so I choose to ignore it." Poonawala, who is in Delhi, said that he would lodge a former police complaint against those who have created this community.

Love-hate equation: Tehseen Poonawala says he is not affected by
the community targeting him on Facebook as he has 6,000 people on
his friends list, while the hate community numbers only 27

The community page has launched an attack on Poonawala, stating he wears the Indian flag pin to pubs and since such an act is objectionable, it should be condemned. Poonawala said, "For 150 years we have fought to raise the Tricolour. I wear the flag pin with tremendous pride and dignity and am not going to stop wearing it because of some political party's diktat. I only follow the Constitution of my country and anyone having an objection to it can go to court."u00a0

He added that he had written several articles for harmonious relations with Pakistan. These articles have received some strong reactions on the social network site. Poonawala said, "People have misunderstood my intentions." He said he had written to the Facebook management to deactivate the account. "My legal team shall do the needful," he said. Nirav Panchamia, VP operations of a multiplex and a friend of Poonawala, said, "I am shocked that somebody has created a hate page on him. I won't say he is being targeted directly, but maybe in a very subtle way. If it's politically driven then I don't know, but if it's personal, then they should concentrate on something productive."u00a0

The hate club
Among the active members on the community were former bar association president Advocate Milind Pawar. He said, "I had accepted the friends request without giving a serious thought to it and will unsubscribe." NCP activist Ramdas Marne also reacted in a similar manner. He said, "I accepted out of ignorance and will unsubscribe it at the earliest."

API Sanjay Tunagar of the Cyber Cell said, "If a person lodges a formal police complaint and if it is noted that
the remarks are obsceneu00a0then Section 66 A of IT Act 2008 can be applied. This section is punishable and the person will be imprisoned for three years." Cyber Cell Advisor Nirajan Reddy said, "Action will be taken against those who posted the remarks and not against those who liked it."

The flag issue
After Shiv Sena activist Santosh Sonavane last year lodged a complaint at the Bundgarden police station against Poonawala for wearing a flag pin, the police had issued a warning to Poonawala.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels